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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25552681">Clothed in Light</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kingrey/pseuds/Kingrey'>Kingrey</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Rapunzel Appreciation Week [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Eugene being soft and Rapunzel being a badass aka the best dynamic, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Introspection, but mostly about Rapunzel's opinion on the nickname so</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 11:13:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,861</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25552681</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kingrey/pseuds/Kingrey</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Rapunzel Appreciation Week Day Two: Sunshine</p><p>The first time Eugene called her Sunshine, it was a soft, whispered sound between kisses.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Rapunzel Appreciation Week [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1849966</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>59</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Clothed in Light</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I have conflicting emotions on this one so I'll let you be the judge ahah</p><p>This prompt is truly the softest :') I hope you'll like my take on it!</p><p>ALSO IF YOU'RE SEEING THIS HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOFIA!! You deserve *all* the love today!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The first time Eugene called her Sunshine, it was a soft, whispered sound between kisses.</p><p> </p><p>They were in her bedroom, the sun was slowly setting, and Rapunzel was painting, sitting on the ground, with Eugene watching her silently with an arm around her back. His hair was tickling her, because he was resting his head lightly on her shoulder and, honestly, she wasn't really painting anymore, she simply didn't want to move. As if he heard her, Eugene drew her even closer to him, turning his head to kiss her neck tenderly. Then, he slowly made his way up, until he was kissing the corner of her lips and her heart was fluttering in her chest. When she couldn't stand the build-up anymore, she turned around fully and kissed him, her hands grabbing his shirt to pull him closer. Rapunzel felt more than she saw his surprised expression under her lips; he always had it when she kissed him. It hadn't even been a month since she met him and her life changed forever, but she loved him more than she had ever loved anyone - and yet, he was still astonished when she showed it, so she kissed him even more, waiting for the day he understood that <em> this</em>? What they had together, what they were to each other, all of this wasn't going away.</p><p> </p><p>Eugene was, despite his surprise, quick to react, his hand going behind her neck to press himself even closer. Suddenly, she was on his lap, warm and safe in his arms, the only distance between a little space to breathe. His eyes shone golden under the sun's orange light, full of an indescriptible emotion as his hand slowly pushed her hair out of the way.</p><p> </p><p>"Sunshine," he breathed, the nickname barely audible, looking at her like she was the most precious treasure he had ever had the chance to hold.</p><p> </p><p><em> Sunshine</em>. The word echoed in her mind, in her heart, burning with a warmth that she couldn't even make sense of. She kissed him even harder, the tenderness gone with the maelstrom of emotions battlings inside her mind - she kissed him, and he kissed her back, pressing until stars were bursting behind her eyelids, so close that she barely knew where her body ended and where his began. She wanted to stay here forever, basking into his love and his light.</p><p> </p><p>The second time Eugene called her Sunshine, Rapunzel wasn't expecting it. She thought that first time was an one off occasion, a nickname that fell from his lips because of the emotion and the setting.</p><p> </p><p>They were having breakfast with her parents, like they always did in the morning since she came back. It was a way for all of them to bond, her mom's words, and she generally enjoyed having all the people she loved in one place. However, she knew Eugene was way more nervous about them than she was, because he had somehow convinced himself that a single mistake would make her parents hate him. She had tried to reassure him that it wasn't the case, but his anxiety was hard to fight.</p><p> </p><p>Today had been especially bad, because Eugene had broken a glass accidentally at the exact moment he arrived. Of course, when he scrambled to pick up the pieces, he made the apples on the table fall down, which made him even more frantic to fix everything - but her father told him sternly to sit down, because someone else would take care of this. She might have not known him for long, but she could see her father was hoping to put Eugene at ease, and only managed the opposite effect.</p><p> </p><p>Eugene sat down quietly, and ate quietly, his leg bouncing nervously under the table. She knew he wouldn't want her to bring attention to the topic again, was probably embarrassed enough already, but she couldn't stand to act as if nothing happened when his anxiety was visible for everyone to see. She simply had to be discreet. Rapunzel softly took his hand in hers, keeping them out of sight under the table, squeezing just enough that she hoped Eugene heard the "I love you" she meant by this. After a few seconds, Eugene sighed, his shoulders slumping, before he shot her a grateful glance, immediately seeming less on edge. Through their breakfast, she slowly caressed his hand, her fingers warm around his, until he calmed down completely and finally smiled again.</p><p> </p><p>When they all went on with their day, he stopped her, took her hands in his and raised them, pressing a soft kiss on her knuckles.</p><p> </p><p>"Thank you Sunshine," he said, voice low and full of affection.</p><p> </p><p>"Of course," she answered, trying to stay casual even though she felt her cheeks flare up at the nickname. Eugene noticed - of course he did - and he laughed quietly, leaning down to kiss it off of her.</p><p> </p><p>After that, the Sunshines grew more frequent, and less surprising. Her heart still missed a beat when Eugene said it, because he always managed to make it sound meaningful, no matter the situation. He would say "goodnight Sunshine", and she would hear how much he cherished her presence in his life, could feel his love down to her bones. She had always adored Eugene's nicknames for her, and this one was no exception.</p><p> </p><p>Some months later, and with seventy feet of additional hair, the nickname sounded a little sourer to Rapunzel's ears. She didn't say anything, because her feelings on the matter were confusing and she didn't know <em> why </em> it was suddenly bothering her, but Eugene saw right away that something changed. He always noticed. But he didn't ask, didn't press, not even when her discomfort grew over the time, until he completely stopped calling her sunshine when they went on the road.</p><p> </p><p>She tried not to feel too guilty for that, because she knew he would never want her to, but she couldn't help it. Eugene only had the best intentions, and she didn't know why the elation she had felt the first time she heard that nickname had disappeared. She only wished she could get over it, because she hated that Eugene was beating himself up for making her experience any kind of discomfort. He was always careful to respect her boundaries.</p><p> </p><p>It all came to a head unexpectedly, while Eugene was helping her fix part of the caravan - they were still waiting to get off Terapi Island, but they didn't want put off the repairs for too long. He was taking care of a leak in the ceiling by being on his tiptoes on the table, and she was painstakingly reassembling Shorty's bathtub.</p><p> </p><p>"All set Sunshine," he beamed before immediately losing his smile when he realised what he called her. They had never truly talked about this issue, so she knew he was battling his desire to say sorry with wanting to move on from the nickname all together, but Rapunzel didn't leave him the time to decide.</p><p> </p><p>"I guess it fits," she blurted out before she could really think about it. Eugene looked down at her with wide eyes, so she continued, tugging at her hair nervously. "Sunshine, I mean. I guess it fits, right? With the sundrop and- you know," she finished lamely, not even sure where she was going with that.</p><p> </p><p>Eugene kept silent a few more second, before jumping down the table and helping her up in one swift movement, so they could look at each other. He was holding her hands tightly, his eyes intense.</p><p> </p><p>"Rapunzel, I never called you Sunshine because of- of your hair, or the sundrop, or any of that, you have to believe me," he quickly said, looking too ernest for her own good.</p><p> </p><p>"I-" she breathed, the discomfort that had been plaguing her for months finally settling at this revelation, "oh."</p><p> </p><p>"I never cared about any of that," Eugene insisted. "I call you Sunshine because… Because that's what you are to me." He pushed a strand of hair out of her face, the movement soft and slow. "You're my light, Rapunzel, that's all I mean by it."</p><p> </p><p>And of course it was. It felt weird, to simultaneously realise the source of her discomfort and understand that it had never been the case anyway, that Eugene never loved her for anything else than what she was. He <em> did </em> call her sunshine practically right from the beginning, before the sundrop came into play again. Her destiny, her powers, her <em> hair </em> - Eugene didn't care about that, he never did. Perhaps he was truly the only one who simply wanted her happy, always, no matter how she decided to go about it.</p><p> </p><p>Sometimes, when the perspective of what awaited her in the dark kingdom made it hard to breathe, she wondered how long it would take for Eugene to sneak them both to run away. She knew he would do it if she ever said the word. He loved her more than anything, and that nickname was only another way for him to show it.</p><p> </p><p>"Say it again," Rapunzel blurted out.</p><p> </p><p>"What?"</p><p> </p><p>"Sunshine. Say it again, please."</p><p> </p><p>A little smile grew on Eugene's lips. He leant down to press his forehead against her, close enough that he could admire every of her freckles, even the most hidden ones. In that moment, it felt like they were the only two people in the universe - no more destiny, no more responsibility, only Eugene looking at her like she personally hung every stars in the universe. No, looking at her like <em> she </em> was the sole source of light in his life, like she was his-</p><p> </p><p>"Sunshine," he repeated, and she couldn't help but feel like he was the one glowing right now - so she raised herself on her tiptoes and kissed him, hands sneaking easily under his open shirt.</p><p> </p><p>This Sunshine felt like the first time Eugene said it all over again, and suddenly, Rapunzel was back to loving this nickname - and she knew Eugene did too. Progressively, he went back to using it more and more, and it always managed to make her smile, no matter the situation, because now, she knew exactly what he meant. When he said Sunshine, he wasn't telling her anything; wasn't talking about her destiny, wasn't complimenting her optimism, wasn't even trying to convey that she was shining because she was beautiful. Eugene called her Sunshine, and simply meant <em> her</em>, Rapunzel, in the bad and the good, because she didn't need to be anything other than herself to be the light in his life.</p><p> </p><p>Eugene said <em> Sunshine </em> and meant it as a fact, not a metaphor.</p><p> </p><p>And once Rapunzel understood that, she learned to cherish each and every one of them even more than before. Being called Sunshine brought her happiness, no matter the situation, because it was Eugene saying it - she didn't think she could ever dislike it again.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Of course, the universe took that thought as a dare.</p><p> </p><p>"Sunshine," Eugene said again, and she <em> hated </em> it, hated the tone he used, hated the resignation and the love he tried to convey in this simple word.</p><p> </p><p>It was all her fault. She had been the one desperate to relax after their last confrontation with Cassandra, she had been the one to suggest that they check out that weird abandoned and underground construction during their date in the forest right outside Corona, she had been the one to ignore Eugene’s obvious discomfort when they stumbled onto different traps. Until now, they had been rusty and not very effective (though she had thought the flame thrower to be a marvel of technology), and she had been having fun exploring everything it had to offer.</p><p> </p><p>She should have listened to Eugene.</p><p> </p><p>"Sunshine, you need to get out of there," he insisted again, his voice soft and nearly inaudible behind the rocks. She chose to think it was because of the wall between them, and not because he was feeling weak or-</p><p> </p><p>"Shut up," she said, both to Eugene and to her brain. He laughed, at least. It was a sad, muffled sound, but he laughed.</p><p> </p><p>She could hear the water falling on his side, some of it seeping under the rocks that had fallen between them when the mechanism started moving. She could guess that a wall was supposed to come down, and trap them inside with the water, but time had passed, and it only made the ceiling crumble on them. And of course her boyfriend, the self-sacrifice champion, took her in his arms and threw her out of danger before she even realised what was happening.</p><p> </p><p>For the longest time, Eugene hadn't responded to her calls. Terrified didn't even begin to cover what she had felt in that instant.</p><p> </p><p>"Sunshine-"</p><p> </p><p>"<em>Stop</em>." The word echoed all around them, drowning out everything else for a moment. "Stop asking me to leave, I won't! I'm <em> not </em> leaving you here alone, the water- I just need a little more time…" she trailed off, trying to think of a way she could pull on the rocks with her hair, without making it fall on Eugene even more. He had said he couldn't stand up or even move when he woke up, and everything was still so unstable, and the water was <em> rising </em> and-</p><p> </p><p>"Sunshine, it's gonna be okay."</p><p> </p><p>Her nails were biting into her palm, the stinging pain enough to anchor her again. It <em> was </em> going to be okay, because she would <em> make </em> <em>it</em> okay. She was no help to him if she was freaking out. That nickname that meant so much to her, she would let it calm her down and guide her, because Eugene trusted her and so she trusted herself too.</p><p> </p><p>And maybe Eugene only meant Sunshine as a fact, but she <em> was </em> the embodiment of the sundrop, and if she had to use the power of the entire universe to save him, she wouldn't hesitate for even a second.</p><p> </p><p>Breathing in deep, she started looking at the situation more rationally, ignoring for a moment the fear burning inside of her heart. She had unbreakable hair, capable of forming a shield around her if the situation required it. The only problem was that it needed to be able to envelope Eugene too, and with the rocks in the way, she couldn't be sure of it. Since she used the final incantation, she had felt more in control of the power of the sundrop, but she still hadn't tried to really use it. She was scared of what it meant - scared that any kind of training was admitting that she would need to <em> fight </em> Cassandra, scared to discover the sheer power and destructiveness she could bestow upon her enemies, scared- Scared of the sundrop, and what it meant now that she could use it not to heal, but to hurt.</p><p> </p><p>She was still scared, of course - but it was for Eugene, him who thought her to be his sun no matter what happened, him who would never fear what her powers implied.</p><p> </p><p>Rapunzel took a breath, closed her eyes, and felt the warm and dangerous energy take over her body. She was shining so bright that the light seeped through her closed lids - and, even if she didn't realise, through the empty space between rocks, reaching Eugene. She took a strand in hand, opened her eyes again and made it clash against the rocks, opening a hole in the wall with water spilling out from it. That move made everything unstable, but she didn't care about that right now - there was only Eugene, glowing from the light she was herself emitting, looking at her with such awe she could feel her heart flutter.</p><p> </p><p>"Hey Rapunzel," he smiled, still sitting in the water, one of his legs obviously stuck under a rock - and funny how it was when she was the personnification of sunlight that Eugene dropped every nickname and only said her name.</p><p> </p><p>She didn't have the time to think too much about it. Everything was falling apart around them, so she threw herself on Eugene, ready to shield him with her body and, well, her hair. His hands went automatically around her waist and for a second, everything was submerged with light, his body pressing against hers the only thing anchoring her.</p><p> </p><p>When everything settled down, the water had evaporated and the fondness in Eugene's eyes made her want to blush.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm never going to leave you behind," she said, gently helping him move the rock from his wounded leg.</p><p> </p><p>His hand cupped her cheek, and when Rapunzel looked up at him, Eugene's smile was somewhat bashful.</p><p> </p><p>"Thank you, Sunshine," he whispered and, once again, there was so much more in this nickname - so much emotion, and love, and overwhelming tenderness, that she couldn't help herself from kissing him. She wished she could kiss the sunshine off of his lips, taste all the wonderful feelings his voice always conveyed until there was nothing else in the world but them.</p><p> </p><p>And, well, if she didn't manage that, she would just have to keep kissing Eugene until she managed. She still counted it as a win.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I hope you liked it!!</p><p>I know there wasn't a particular reason for having less "sunshine" in s2, but have an hc about it anyway lol</p><p>Also, in the finale, when Rapunzel and Cass fought, they both used their powers in really unique and new ways and, yes, it was badass, but when did they learn this?? What changed? WHY WERE THE BLACK ROCKS SORTA ALIVE AT ONE POINT I-<br/>Anyway. Hc that Rapunzel and Cass gained a lot more control after Cassandra's revenge, and that Rapunzel had to accept it and train a little - which I kinda intended to show here, but the story didn't really go there ahah</p><p>I'm not sure i'll manage to finish tomorrow's prompt on time though but we'll see!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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